Danson named GB and England captain

Alex Danson has
been named Great Britain & England’s women’s hockey team’s captain having
been voted in by her teammates.

She will now lead
England at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup in London next summer, as well
as the Commonwealth Games in April.

The
32-year-old took the captaincy reigns for England on a temporary basis
this summer and 16 years after making her international debut will now lead
both England and Great Britain.

Alex made her
first international appearance back in 2001 and has gone on to represent Great
Britain and England a combined 286 times scoring 105 goals.

The forward's
first task will be to lead England at the World League Finals in New Zealand
between the 17 and 26 November with all England's matches being shown live on
BT Sport.

Meanwhile Rio 2016
Olympic gold medallists Hollie Pearne-Webb and Laura Unsworth have both been
appointed as vice-captains for England and Great Britain.

Danson said:
"It is an unbelievable honour. I never thought that I would take on that
kind of role. It’s a huge honour to have that mandate from the staff and
players.

"To hear that
from players, it’s the only place I hear their feedback and it’s important. It
felt very, very special. I found out on the field and we had an email through
from our sport psychologist and all the players came and gave me a massive hug.
It was amazing and very special indeed.

"I try and
encourage others to take the lead and to do our jobs as a team and lead by
example and that’s very much how I’ll do it. It’s about showing responsibility,
continuing to work so hard - that will be the main thing."

Head coach Danny
Kerry added: “We have invested good time in looking at leadership and what it
means for our context and our vision. The athlete squad have considered the
qualities and skills needed, and the model of leadership that will serve us
well over the next period.

“As part of that
process the squad have given Alex Danson a huge mandate to be the captain of
the squad. I’d like to put on record how well the athletes engaged in this
process over many hours of discussion.

“On a personal
level I am delighted for Alex, her depth of experiential learning, her
understanding of herself and her passion for the game, the team, the players,
will serve her and the team incredibly well over the next period.

“In High
Performance Sport there is nothing more certain than the fact that there will
be difficult times. Alex has the qualities and skills that will help us
navigate those times and we all look forward to working and supporting each
other in that endeavour."

Performance Director Ed Barney added: "The first year of the Tokyo cycle has been exciting, rewarding and demonstrated the potential that lies within the women's programme for repeated medal winning success. I wish Alex and the leadership group all the very best over the coming months and years - what will I'm sure, be an exciting time."